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PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 15, 2020 KEIZERTIMES.COM OSAA weighing their options for the fall BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes After Gov. Kate Brown announced on April 8 that in-person classes would be cancelled for the remainder of the school year due to the coronavirus, the OSAA elect- ed to offi cially cancel the spring sports season. Now it’s looking like the fall sports season could be in jeopardy as well. On Thursday, May 7, Brown stated in a press conference that all large gatherings would not be allowed until at least October, meaning that major sporting events, like college football, would likely have to play games without fans. However, because there wasn’t a number specifi ed on what is considered a large gathering, OSAA executive director Peter Weber feels like the organization is still waiting for guidance on what their next steps should be for the fall season. “There weren’t a lot of spe- cifi cs in the announcement. We’re still trying to fi nd clar- ifi cation on what this means going forward,” Weber said. “There are a lot more ques- tions than answers right now.” Despite the question marks, Weber acknowledged that anything is on the table right now. “We are proceeding like there will be modifi cations to the fall sports season,” Weber said. Earlier in the spring, Weber formed multiple contingency groups made up of athletic directors and coaches around the state to help make deci- sions on where to go from here, as well as to come up with suggestions that would make a fall sports season more feasible. “We’re hoping to have regular contact with the con- tingency groups to come up with ideas and suggestions for next season. We want to be as prepared as we can be. We don’t want to just make a last-minute shift on an issue,” Weber said. “We’re willing to look at anything if it makes sense.” One idea that is being con- sidered is moving golf and tennis, which are normally spring sports, into the fall sea- son. During Brown’s press conference, Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state health File Please see OSAA, Page A12 McNary defensive back Noah Lelack makes a tackle in a game from last season. At this point, it’s unknown if there will be high school football being played in September. MYB not ready to give up hope for potential season File Cash Martin prepares to throw an off-speed pitch to the plate in a McNary Youth Baseball game from last summer. Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 Phone: 503.390.1051 • www.keizertimes.com MANAGING EDITOR Eric A. Howald editor@keizertimes.com SUBSCRIPTIONS One year: $35 in Marion County, $43 outside Marion County, $55 outside Oregon ASSOCIATE EDITOR Matt Rawlings news@keizertimes.com COMMUNITY REPORTER PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Lauren Murphy reporter@keizertimes.com Publication No: USPS 679-430 ADVERTISING POSTMASTER Stephanie Wittman advertising@keizertimes.com Send address changes to: PRODUCTION MANAGER & GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew Jackson graphics@keizertimes.com LEGAL NOTICES legals@keizertimes.com BUSINESS MANAGER EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com 2019-2020 President Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon Leah Stevens billing@keizertimes.com RECEPTION Lori Beyeler facebook.com/keizertimes twitter.com/keizertimes By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes There have been several youth baseball organizations across the state that have thrown in the towel on their chances to have a season this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McNary Youth Baseball (MYB), however is still in wait-and-see mode. The MYB baseball pro- gram, which is in its fi rst year in the Clackamas County Junior Baseball Association (CCJBA), is still is hoping to facilitate some kind of abbreviated season, despite multiple programs in the league saying that they won’t be participating in any kind of baseball activities this sea- son. “We still have a lot of people willing to stick it out and play the waiting game,” MYB President Bo Lane said. “Once stuff begins to open back up again, we will continue to push forward.” Cleveland, Colton, Put- nam, North Marion and Gladstone are just a handful of the programs in the league that have already decided to cancel their respective sea- sons. Earlier this month, the MYB board sent out a survey to all parents in the program, asking if families would rath- er pull their child out of the program and get a refund, or if they want to wait for re- strictions to lift and have a possible season take place. According to Lane, 66 percent of the parents said that they wanted to wait, and 34 percent of parents said that they would want to pull their kids out of the program — although Lane said that only half the parents in the program participated in the survey. Because of the results of the survey, the MYB board decided that they would ac- cept refund requests for any family that got tired of play- ing the waiting game. “We respect whatever parents decided. We know they have their child’s best interest at heart and so do we,” Lane said. Based on those numbers, Lane says they will still be able to have a modifi ed sea- son if they get clearance. “We may have to re-orga- nize some of the teams, but there is still a lot of potential baseball to be played,” Lane said. “But we take a lot of di- rection from our district, so if they pull the plug, then we will too.” Last month, Misty Gend- harr, the president of CCJ- BA, said in a Facebook post that she believes that the or- ganization will have a start Please see MYB, Page A12 Warner signs with Linfi eld BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Zoie Warner has excelled with the McNary volleyball program for the last three sea- sons. Now, she is taking her talents to the next level. After receiving fi rst-team all-league recognition during the 2019 season, Warner of- fi cially signed with Linfi eld University to continue her ac- ademic and athletic career. Warner plans on majoring in nursing at Linfi eld. “It’s always been a goal of mine to play college volley- ball, so I am really excited to get the opportunity to play at Linfi eld,” Warner said. “It’s a very close-knit community, so that was a big draw for me.” For Warner, one of the oth- er appeals of playing at Lin- fi eld was that she would get to re-connect with a pair of her old teammates from McNary. Warner played with Sophia Zielinski and Kara Thomas at McNary in 2017 and 2018. Zielinski and Thomas each signed with Linfi eld after their senior seasons and the three players look to be reunited on the court this fall. “The three of us really clicked when we played to- gether at McNary and I can’t wait to play with Kara and So- phia in college,” Warner said. Warner was one of the most versatile players in the Mountain Valley Conference last season. Not only did she lead the Celtics with 201 kills, she also had 183 digs and was named McNary’s top defen- sive player. Whatever position Warner Please see WARNER, Page A12 File After receiving fi rst-team all-league honors as a senior, McNary senior Zoie Warner will be continuing her career at Linfi eld.
